Raw water such as water from rivers, lakes or underground usually contains suspended matter. The suspended matter must be removed by clarification in order to provide water suitable for use in domestic and industrial applications. The suspended matter can consist of large solids, settleable by gravity alone without any external aid, and nonsettleable material, often colloidal in nature. Removal, or separation, of the suspended matter is generally accomplished by coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation. In combination, these processes are referred to as conventional clarification. (See Betz Handbook of Industrial Water Conditioning, 9th Edition, 1991, Betz Laboratories, Inc., Trevose, Pa., pages 23 through 30. )
Naturally occurring suspended particles are predominantly negatively charged. Water-soluble organic cationic polymers, such as polyamine and polydiallyldimethyl ammonium chloride, are normally used to clarify water having high turbidity (for instance greater than 60 nephelometric units (NTU)). In low turbidity water, less than 60 NTU, there are generally not enough particulates to form a settleable floc when the water is treated with cationic polymer alone.
Inorganic coagulants such as aluminum sulfate, polyaluminum chloride, ferric sulfate, ferric chloride and sodium aluminate are often used in low turbidity waters. These inorganic coagulants are relatively inexpensive and generally effective for water clarification. However, these inorganic coagulants tend to generate voluminous sludge which is difficult to dewater. These inorganic coagulants are also only effective within a particular pH range and require proper pH adjustment of the water during treatment. In addition, residual iron and aluminum ions in the treated water may affect downstream operations such as cooling water and boiler water treatments and may also cause health and environmental problems when the water is discharged.
Water soluble/dispersible melamine formaldehyde resins have also been employed for the clarification of low turbidity waters. The residual formaldehyde in the resin, however, raises handling, use and disposal difficulties. The present invention provides methods of clarifying water without incurring the disadvantages realized in the use of certain cationic polymers, inorganic coagulants and melamine formaldehyde resins.